Packaged toothbrush holder and toothpaste dispenser



Aug. 28, 1956 R. ARQUELLES ET AL 2,760,681

PACKAGED TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER AND TOOTHPASE DISPENSER Filed Feb. 18, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 TE; 2/ .i'IlTr..E

a l l 4 8 J INVENTORS a I azqmflw, raxefii/vw 9160 41 3 94/, BY ATTONEY PACKAGED TOOIHBRUSH HOLDER Application February 18, 19-54, SerialNo. 411,066

3 Claims. (Cl. 222-93) our invention e a e b oadly to d ta h iene de: vices and more particularly to acqrnpact merchandisable package for br she and. too hpast an which usable upon installation as a toothpaste dispensing device.

One of the objects o o r-in en on s. o p ovide. com.- p merehandisable pa k e or to brus e n too Paste the Package b n r y ns a l ble s. bath oom. accessory for holding toothbrushes; and a toothpaste dispensing tube in association; with a mirror Another object o nventi n s. o p o id a. me t-- chandisable package for toothbrushes and toothpaste dis; pensing tubes in which the casing. of the package is; substantially elliptical in crossesection providing supporting means for toothbrushes in the segmental portions at; ope posite ends h easing a d hav n moun in means o a toothpaste dispensing ub ce ra l of. h easing Still another. obje f ou nyention. sto. prov de. a construction P t r ndo s n oo hbr hes nd. toothpaste p ns n ub o subs nt a lyvalz 3 85: seetion in which e o po te-h ioesot heuae a-ge. include mountingm ans. or; oo hhru hes; wh le. he 3. tral portion o e P kage pro de moun inaraeans or a toothpaste dispensing tube,

Still another object of our invention is to provide a eompaet i ahl Packa e.- o e closing. o h toothbrushes a. t o hpa te disp ns n b h re he parts of the p k h be. nexpen ve y mo d d from plastic material P otee ine he ods. i h pm nt and. Providing a ure whi may be readily n tall d. as. a toilet accessory in a bathroom.

A further object otour; nven ionis. op o de a. r a i y P b pa P c a e hi h may: e c rried by m y p s. rave rs o l accessory or detaehahle ns l a i n n. hotel moto o rt motels, and.

h e v f atin or the. de al. hygien n eds of. the. family traveling.

- A t l h r; o ie tf our: nv nti n s t p o a construction of casing fog a dental: hygiene. device for insuring the circulation of: air through. that part of the. casing in which the bristles of; the, toothbrushes. are exposed for facilitating drying of the bristles afteruse.

Other and further objects of our invention reside in the structural features ofthe; compact merchandisable:

package as more fully described in the; following. spe...

cification by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical. sec-tionalz view alongthe minimum.

axis dimension through thecasing of the merchandisable package of our invention, the toothpaste dispensing tubebeing shown partially in. sideelevation, the view bein r ited States Patent (3 Patente A g r 2 19 .61

of. Fig. 2;;

Fig, 4, a horizontal sectional view taken on line 4--..-4

of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5. is; a fragmentary view of a modified f rm of the t po th cas ng show ng one manner of. hing dly con necting a mirror thereto;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view through a modified form of our invention, the view being taken. on. line. o F 'g- Fig. 7 is a. vertical sectional view through the structure. of; our invention illustrated in Fig. 6 the view being taken substantially on line 7-7 of; Fig. 6; and

E 8 i a v i a sec ional. vie en s bstantiallyon ne 88 f. 61-

Our invention is directed to a. constructionv of readily m l ahl e s ng wh h may b us as a. o p tpaekage.

for nc os ng ot br hes nd a ol p ibl t b of stalled as a toilet fixture in abathroom. The toothpaste tube is progressively collapsible from the exterior of the. casing and when the toothpaste has been entirely used the, toothpaste tube is; readily removable. and. a replace: ment readily insertable. The: cover of the package; is. i her hing d y conn te with he casing r i W o ly echabl herefrom. for facilita ing its use. as a support. for a viewing mirror contained; in the cover. Com

pactness is secured. by reason. of the. elliptical. or oval;

con o r of; th den al. hygiene package ofi our.- invention... We have found that this shape occupies a minimum of space and yet. provides. for the mounting of toothbrushes in, he. interior opposite sides: of the casing whilethe tooth-. paste dispensing. tube is. mounted; centrally ofthe. casing between thetoothbr-ushes. We, have. shown two.- arrange-v ments: for. mounting thev toothbrushes, in the interior sides.

of; the. casing in one of which. the toothbrushes are. mounted facingtheinteriorof the casing while in another" ofi which:- the. toothbrushes are supported in positions spaced from the sidewalls oi" the. casing. and directed. to:- wardtheiront and rear of the casing.

Referring to the, drawings. in more. detail, reference; character 1 designates the enclosing casingofthe pack-- age of Qurinvention. This: casing is molded and is preferably formed: from. clear plastic through which thetoothbrushes 2, 3, 4: and 5. and the collapsible tube. of dental toothpasteindicated. at 61are= readily visible. The casing l is elliptical or oval.-shaped in. lateral sectionas; represented more clearly in Figs. 3: and: 4v and! thetooth brushesare, mounted: adjacent the; interior side walls. form: ing the limits of? the; elliptical. or oyalsshapedi casing along the maximum axiszdimeusion.v The minimum axis-dimensign, of. the casinge-xtending: betweenthe front and rear: walls is, provided with a guide; trackway. represented at 7; at the. rear wall. and a. vertical slot 8 at; the frontrwalla. The guide; tr ck 7 encloses; an. annular.- member 9 into Whichatransverseshaft1.0 extends... The transverse shaft 1 0; is. slotted intermed to. its length. as represented at" 10 1. Fig. 2; {on receiving the: flat; metallic.- end. 11 01%" he co lapsib e. dental oothpaste tube. 12; after the screw. threaded nd- 14; ha beenpa sedthrough the. inclined aperture. In.- in. the; bottom of casing; is ands engaged in; the. screw threaded sleeye 15 externallyrof: thebottom. h cas ng. rew. hre d d: s eeve. 1-5. is;v d8:- aehably. e gage o e he: ependine c ew hreaded; end 14 of, the toothpaste tube in= lie lrof. the conventional. QIQYL hr aded. ap. uppl ed n;v he ental toothpaste. ub The. n lfl f. heollapsible ube. ext nd -into. the ew d d sleeve 1.5. n. gar en th: he. aperture 1.6 therein. The depending end. of sleeve 15 is formed of reduced section and, externally screw threaded for. receiving the detachable cap 11%; the cap 18 is connected toothpaste tube 12 are ready for ejection by removing cap 18 and revolving shaft 10.

' The-forwardly projecting end of shaft 10 passes through vertical slot 8 in casing 1 and is provided with afingergrip knob 10!) by which the metal of the collapsible dental toothpaste tube 'is rolled up and pressure applied in a downward direction for ejecting the dental toothpaste through aperture 16 onto the bristles of a toothbrush held facing upwardly beneath the aperture 16. The toothbrushes 25 are readily mounted interiorly of the casing adjacent the opposite sides thereof in longitudinally extending guideways which we have indicated at 22, 23, 24 and 25, into which the handles of the toothbrushes 2, 3, 4 and respectively project. The guideways 2225 are each slotted at 22a, 23a, 24a and 25a to facilitate entry and removal of the handles of the toothbrushes 25 within the compact space around the toothpaste tube 12. The bristles of the toothbrushes 25 are arranged in line with the horizontal apertures in the casing 1, represented at 26 and 27. The ventilating apertures 26 and 27 are aligned with the position in which the bristles of brushes 25 are maintained. The apertures are inclined upwardly to preclude, in so far as it is practical, the entry of foreign matter while permitting the circulation of air around the bristles for drying the bristles after use. 1

The cover 12 is provided with a mirror 28. A recess 21a is provided in the undersurface of cover 21 having the same contour as the elliptical section of the casing 1 for maintaining the cover 21 in position with respect to the upper periphery of the casing. Thus the cover 21 may be readily removed from casing 1 and the mirror used as an aid while cleaning the teeth.

In Fig. 5 we have shown a modified form of our invention wherein casing 1a is provided with a lug 1b adjacent the top thereof to which a hinged connection is made from cover 21 through an appropriate hinged lug 2172, whereby cover 21 may be moved to the position 21" while the device is in use and while the mirror 28 is being used. Groove 21'a coacts with the upper periphery of easing 1 when the cover 21' is closed.

The casing 1 is provided with a pair of rearwardly extending projections 29 and 30 into which there is anchored the suction cups 31 and 32 which enable the device to be detachably supported against any available vertical surface, such as represented at 33.

In Figs. 6-8 We have illustrated a modified form of our invention in which provision ismade for mounting the toothbrushes 2, 3, 4 and 5 within the segments of the opposite sides of the casing 1, by means of molded segmental portions 34 and 35 disposed intermediate the opposite sides of casing 1 and the position occupied by collapsible tube 12. The segments 34 and 35 extend from the bottom of casing 1 to a position spaced below the top of the casing for a sufficient distance to maintain the bristles of the brushes 2-5 exposed to the circulation of air through the rows of apertures 26 and 27. The segmental portions 34 and 35 are provided with longitudinally extending guideways 22', 23', 24' and 25' which receive the handle ends of the toothbrushes, the guide ways opening through slots 22'a, 23a, 24'a and 25'a toward the interior walls of the opposite sides of casing 1 along the medium axis dimension of the casing. This arrangement facilitates the removal and insertion of the toothbrushes in a direction remote from the center of the casing for reducing obstruction to the insertion and removal of the dental toothpaste tube 12. The other parts of the package are the same as described in connection with Figs. 1-4.

Our invention has been found very practical by reason of its compact assembly as a merchandisable package for both toothpaste and toothbrushes and while we have described our invention in certain preferred embodiments we realize that modifications may be made and we desire that it be understood that no limitations upon our invention are intended other than may be imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. A packaged'toothbrush holder and toothpaste dispenser comprising-a casing of substantially elliptical cross section having an integral bottom portion and a movable top portion for normally closing the top of said casing, longitudinally extending partition members disposed across the interior sides of said casing and spaced from the interior surfaces of the side walls of said casing and extending from said bottom portion to a position spaced from the top portion of said casing for a distance approximately equal to thelength of the brush portions of the toothbrushes and defining with the adjacent side walls vertically disposed compartments of substantially segmentally shaped transverse section and longitudinally extending guideways formed in said partition members for receiving and embracing the handles of the toothbrushes throughout the lengths'thereof in vertically depending positions in the opposite interior sides of said casing for maintaining the brush portions of said toothbrushes in positions with the bristles thereof spaced from the walls of the casing, means disposed centrally of said casing intermediate said partition members for mounting a toothpaste dispensing tube in inverted position, and means coacting with the front and rear walls of said casing for progressively collapsing-said toothpaste dispensing tube for ejecting toothpaste through an orifice in the bottom portion of said casing, said side walls being apertured adjacent the brush portions of the toothbrushes to facilitate the circulation of air around the bristles of said toothbrushes.

2. Apackaged toothbrush holder and toothpaste dispenser comprising a casing closed at the bottom and having a removable top and a vertically extending tubular enclosing wall structure with a lateral cross section that is substantially elliptical in contour with the maximum transverse dimcnsion thereof extending between the opposite side walls of the casing and a minimum transverse dimension extending between the front and rear walls of said casing and longitudinally extending curved partitions disposed interiorly of said casing and spaced from the interior surfaces of the opposite side walls of the casing, said curved partitions being integral with thebottomof said casing and terminating short of the top of said casing for a distance approximately equal to the length of the brush portions of toothbrushes insertable into and removable from said casing, said partitions and the interior surfaces of said side walls defining vertically disposed compartments of substantially segmentally shaped transverse section, said partitions'having longitudinally extending guideways formed therein for receiving and embracing the handles of the toothbrushesthroughout the lengths'thereof interiorly of said casing in substantially vertically disposed positions spaced from the interiorv surfaces of the opposite interior walls of the sides of the casing and remote from the central portion of said casing, said side walls being apertured for the circulation of air around the bristles of the toothbrushes.

3. A package for dental toothpaste and toothbrushes as set forth in claim 2 in which said longitudinally extending guideways are directed outwardly from said partitions toward the side walls of said casing and are longitudinally slotted through the length of the guideways for facilitating the insertion and removal of the toothbrushes into and from said casing in the space between the side UNITED STATES PATENTS Hitzler May 26, 1936 Findley Mar. 15, 1938 6 Thorn et a1 Mar. 11, 1941 Waiters Apr. 5, 1949 Small May 16, 1950 Locke Aug. 5, 1952 Frederick Oct. 14, 1952 Halvorsen Oct. 14, 1952 Cook Jan. 26, 1954 

